Chapter 97

"Currently, this system uses a three-base station positioning method, which can determine the relative position coordinates on the electronic map through the signals from three base stations with known coordinates..."

"The relative position coordinates are then used to determine the direction with the gyroscope of the laser pointer, and the distance data from the rangefinder can be used to obtain the coordinates of the bombardment position."

"The control computer at the artillery command center will calculate the coverage range of all artillery units and provide a list of units that can carry out bombardment for the commander to choose from."

"After the commander makes a choice, the computer can calculate the firing parameters based on the positioning of the bombardment unit and the target, and directly transmit the firing parameters through the battlefield information network to the command instrument of the bombardment unit."

Hu Wenhui enthusiastically introduced the operation mode of the artillery command center to the Iraqi delegation, but the surroundings were not in the mountains along the Annam border. Instead, the scene was filled with a sci-fi feel.

The tiled floor, aluminum alloy ceiling, soundproof walls, and humming air conditioning. Everyone in the room was wearing white lab coats, and except for Hu Wenhai, everyone spoke and walked quietly.

"And the most important command automation function in this system is realized by what we are currently seeing—"

Hu Wenhai pointed to a round cabinet in front of him, which was densely packed with various wires, circuit boards, and indicator lights. Anyone with trypophobia would break out in goosebumps at the sight.

"This is the most advanced supercomputer in the world, the Galaxy 1, which only three countries can manufacture: the United States, Japan, and our China!"

"Oh—"

The Iraqis widened their eyes in surprise as Hu Wenhai introduced the "world's third" advanced computer.

Cough, cough, Hu Wenhai wasn't exactly lying. Let's pretend we don't know about the Soviet Union's supercomputer development level and ignore it! Ignore it!

Anyway, even if the Soviet Union were to come out and challenge, they wouldn't sell the supercomputer to Iraq. The Americans certainly wouldn't provide this system to Iraq, so China is the only one doing this exclusive business.

China's Galaxy 1 computer is our first supercomputer with an operation speed of one hundred million calculations per second—it's not a supercomputer.

It was successfully developed by the Computer Research Institute of the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha in 1984. The emergence of the Galaxy 1 gave China the capability for large-scale computing.

Although its main function is scientific research, after modification, it can also serve as a server. However, for now, the Galaxy 1, which still uses paper tape for input and output, is just a showpiece.

Well, can Iraq even find a handful of computer experts?

"Please follow this way, experts. Next, we will visit the Changsha Communication Building to see the first demonstration system of our battlefield individual terminal, the digital pager system!"

"Information about this system will be introduced by the colleagues from the Capital Information Station."

Speaking of which, China's application of pagers started relatively early. In 1983, a simulated signal paging network was established in Shanghai, and in 1984, digital paging networks were built in both Shanghai and the capital. The equipment in Changsha is the backup system from the capital, which was urgently airlifted and set up before the Iraqi delegation arrived. Although the equipment is from Motorola and even the pagers are imported from the United States, the Iraqis don't know that, and no one will tell them that we can't manufacture this equipment yet.

What? Calling Hu Wenhai a swindler? Pah, Hu Wenhai is called a system integrator! How can he be a swindler? Iraq can only buy our products, and we are the only ones in the world who will sell them this system!

Even if Motorola were to sell paging equipment to Iraq, could they integrate it into Iraq's command system? Third-rate companies sell products, but we are a first-rate company. What do first-rate companies sell? Standards!

"As you can see, this paging system can issue orders to classes or even individual soldiers in areas with signal coverage. Experts should understand how significant such a system is on the battlefield. Although the current system uses digital display, the Arabic alphabet has only 28 letters, making it easy to transmit specific data!"

"How about it, Mr. Ahmed?" Hu Wenhui took advantage of the moment when everyone was looking at the materials and whispered to Ahmed, "With this system, President Saddam's orders can be specific to every soldier!"

"Combined with the Prism program's monitoring, President Saddam will establish an absolute control network over the army. No one will be able to move the army to the outskirts of Baghdad without anyone knowing, as happened when the Iraqi royal family was overthrown. No one will be able to secretly issue orders against President Saddam, as all orders to soldiers will come from the command system. President Saddam can check what a squad leader wants his soldiers to bring back for dinner from his office!"

Ahmed's identity was no secret. Before serving as the head of the Chinese procurement delegation, his most prominent experience was being Saddam's secretary. In other words, Ahmed was Saddam's trusted confidant.

Saddam was a dictator, there was no doubt about that. Since the 1950s, every regime change in Iraq began with a military coup.

Kassem rose to power through a military coup, the Ba'ath Party in the 1960s also came to power through a military coup, and in the 1970s, Saddam replaced Bakr through a military coup.

If Saddam could fully control the Iraqi army, he wouldn't need to rely on the Republican Guard, his loyal elite force. Wouldn't it be better to treat everyone equally?

But because the army was divided into factions, Saddam placed even more emphasis on the construction of the Republican Guard. In a way, his situation was similar to Chiang Kai-shek's, where the central army was the strongest, but there were still regional factions.

However, Saddam was much stronger than Chiang Kai-shek, with the support of the Soviet Union and the United States, allowing him to command the army and fight a life-and-death battle with Iran.

But with the Prism program, Saddam could monitor the entire Iraqi army at any time, which would at least let him sleep better.

It's important to note that the Iran-Iraq War had been going on for five years, from the initial invasion of Iran to being pushed back to their own doorstep. Iraq, once a quasi-developed country, had become a poor country with $80 billion in debt, and Saddam was sitting on a volcano.

If it weren't for the oil revenue and the support of the US and the Soviet Union, and if Khomeini hadn't insisted on exporting the revolution, the Iran-Iraq War would have ended long ago, and Saddam would have followed the fate of the previous two dictators.

For Saddam, Hu Wenhui's Prism program was a lifeline.

As Saddam's former secretary, Ahmed was very aware of Saddam's concerns, so he was particularly interested in the technology involved in the Prism program.

He flipped through the bilingual Chinese-Arabic introduction materials in his hands, and indeed, as Hu Wenhui said, converting the digital system to Arabic was not as difficult as converting to Chinese, and it should be possible to transmit orders to ordinary soldiers.

"I am becoming more and more confident in the Prism program. I hope Mr. Hu can give me more surprises!"

"Mr. Ahmed, rest assured, we have plenty of surprises prepared for you."

The Iraqi delegation was in Changsha, where the National University of Defense Technology and Central South University are located, and the technological level, especially in defense technology, is quite advanced.

To ensure the success of the Iraqi delegation, the country made great efforts. Not only did they bring out the Galaxy 1, the backup paging system from the capital, but also the Shanghai Electronic Computer Factory sent the latest djs-185 mini-computer, the Yangtze River Electronic Computer Factory's cj-1001 medium-sized computer, and the Shanghai Radio Factory's 905B large computer.

In terms of variety, Changsha could have hosted an expo. These new computer systems opened the eyes of the Iraqis, and they no longer had any doubts about China's electronic technology.

After visiting this part of the content, the Iraqi delegation boarded a plane and flew back to the capital with Hu Wenhui and the accompanying personnel.

After a series of coordination and preparation, the front-line command in Annam finally sent word that the Iraqi delegation could visit the "performance."

However, before going to the front lines, the military had prepared some "strong medicine" for the Iraqis.

It's important to note that the Iranians were desperately searching for F-14 spare parts and AIM-54 missiles at exorbitant prices. Apart from the United States, only China had the means to obtain F-14-related products.

The General Logistics Department was sharpening their knives, preparing to show the Iranians and Iraqis, who were both staying in a guesthouse, how Chinese pilots train on the F-14.

How much would the Iranians be willing to pay for F-14 spare parts?

How much would the Iraqis be willing to pay to prevent the Iranians from getting F-14 spare parts?

Oh, even Hu Wenhui was eager to see the scene of the two Gulf countries throwing money around!

Hu Wenhui and the Iraqi delegation returned to the capital on a military plane. The Iraqis were taken away by the Air Force, and he didn't need to be the one to play the "bad cop."

He hitched a ride back to the Air Force guesthouse where he had been staying. Before he could reach the guesthouse entrance, someone suddenly blocked his path.

"Is this Comrade Hu Wenhui? Please come with us!"